Worst-Case Scenario
by MeggieMagoo316
Summary: Here's a new Japril fic for you. It's an AU angst one. Jackson and April have something major happen to them which will only bring them closer together in the end. I don't want to give to much away but I hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

April and Jackson at at the kitchen counter drinking coffee. Jackson was reading the sports section of the paper and April was flipping through a Parent's magazine. Jackson took bites of his t

toast every time he flipped the page of the newspaper. April had a half eaten bowl of cereal on the counter next to her. She was immersed in an article in the magazine.

"Your cereal is soggy." Jackson said getting up from the stool. He brought his plate over to the sink.

"Hmm?" April said looking up from the magazine.

"Your cereal. It's soggy."

"Oh, sorry. I was just reading this article."

"I noticed. You want me to take that for you?"

"Yes, thank you." April smiled and handed him the bowl. "I should go check on Em."

"I'm going to shower before I head in to work." Jackson put their dishes in the dishwasher.

April walked down the hall to Emmy's room and pushed the door open. She went over and opened the shade on the window before going over to the crib. She peeked over the side and saw Emmy

holding onto her foot and sucking on her pacifier. She was looking up looking up at her mobile that was spinning around a playing music. April smiled at her. "Hey, Angel." Emmy spit out her

pacifier and smiled. April turned off the mobile and picked her up out of the crib. "Did you sleep good?" April kissed the side of her head as she carried her over to the changing table. Emmy

drooled on her shoulder. April laid her down and gave her a teether so she should change her without her grabbing at all the lotion and powder bottles. April unbuttoned her foot pajamas and took

off her diaper. Emmy grabbed her foot and started to suck on her toes. "Are they tasty?" April laughed and rubbed her belly. April grabbed the outfit that she had laid out for her and got her dressed.

"Let's go see if Daddy's done getting ready for work." April went across the hall to their bedroom. Jackson was standing by the bed in his smiley face boxers and white sock.

"Where do those come from?" April stifled a laugh.

"What?" Jackson looked around.

"Those." April pointed to his boxers. "I don't remember seeing those before."

"Oh um they were in the bottom of the drawer. We need to do laundry."

"Yeah it's on my to do list." April sat Emmy down on the bed and surrounded her with pillows. "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes." Jackson grabbed some jeans and a long sleeve shirt and sat down

on the bed. He leaned over and kissed Emmy before getting dressed. Emmy gurgled and drooled while she sucked on her fingers. Jackson put on some sneakers and then picked up Emmy.

"Let's go get you something to eat."

April fixed her lab coat as she walked over to the nurse's station. "Good Morning." April smiled at the nurse behind the desk. She took a look at the electronic board and grabbed a tablet. She read

the work up on the patient as she walked over to the exam. She walked into the room. There was a young man in his twenties laying in bed. He was curled up under the covers. He was a clammy

shade of white. "Hi. Tom." April smiled. "I'm Dr. Kepner. It says here that you've had a low grade fever and you've been vomiting for a few days?"

"Y…yeah." He shivered and pulled the blanket up higher. April put the tablet down on the table next to the bed and put on her stethoscope.

"How long have you had the fever?" April asked as she listened to his breathing.

"I'm not sure…maybe a week?" He squinted when she looked into his eyes with the light.

"Okay. Well I'm going to draw some blood and run a few tests."

"Can I get something for this headache?"

"You have a headache too? How long have you had it?"

"I'm not sure."

"Okay. I'll draw some blood and then I'll send someone in here to give you something for your head ache." April walked over to the supply cabinet that was against the wall and pulled out syringe

to draw the blood. Tom rolled over onto his back and sat up. April cleaned off his arm and then drew some blood. "I'm going to run this down to the lab and I'll be back as soon as I get the results."

Tom groaned and curled back up in the fetal position on the bed. April grabbed the tablet and headed out of the room. She heard Tom throw up as she walked out. She walked over to the nurse that

was standing by the desk. "Could you go into room 3 and give him some Ibuprofen for his headache."

"Sure."

"Thanks." April made her way to the lab.

Jackson was in the OR finishing up a cleft palette surgery with Arizona. "You do beautiful work, Jackson."

Jackson smiled with his eyes. "Thank you." He did the last few stitches. "And we're all done."

"He's going to be a very handsome young man."

"He'll be fighting off the girls." They both laughed. Jackson and Arizona went over to the trash can and took off their gowns and gloves and went into the scrub room to wash up. "How is

everything going with you and Callie?"

"We're good. Working through some things."

"Are you still looking into surrogacy?"

"That's sort of on the back burner right now which is one of the things that we're trying to work through."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"No it's alright."

"You still want to do it, right?"

"Yes of course I do. But now there's this fellowship and Callie's busy with her research and we have Sofia…" They finished washing their hands and dried them off. Jackson opened the door for

her and they walked out of the room.

"How's your Fellowship going?"

"I think I might be in over my head."

"Really?"

"I don't know why I thought it would be easy."

"If it's something that you really want to do then you should go for it." Jackson's pager went off and he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the number. "That's the ER."

"Go."

"You going to be alright?"

"Yeah." Arizona smiled. "I'm fine."

"Alright." Jackson smiled. "I'll see you later."

"See you later." Jackson headed off down the hall.

Jackson and April walked down to the cafeteria together. "How's your day going?" Jackson asked pulling her in close to him.

April smiled and wrapped her arm around him. "Good. I have a patient who has meningitis but we caught it early enough he shouldn't have any permanent damage."

"I had a few liposuctions and I fixed a cleft palette on a three month old."

"You win." Jackson grabbed them each a tray and gave one to April.

"Have you gone to see Em yet?"

"No. I'm going to stop by after we eat." April grabbed a salad and a bag of chips. Jackson loaded up his tray with an array of food.

"Give her a kiss for me."

"I will." April smiled. Jackson pulled out his wallet and payed for both of them and they walked over to the table that Meredith, Alex and Jo were sitting at. April took a seat next to Jo and Jackson

sat down next to her.

"Hey guys." Jo smiled.

"Hey."

"Do you have any new pictures?" Jo asked taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Of course." April pulled her phone out of her lab coat pocket and gave it to Jo to look at pictures.

"Oh!" Jo gushed.

"Kepner you're still scrubbing in with me on the bowel resection, right?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, I'll be there."

Meredith's pager went off. "I have to get back to the ER. I'll see you later."

Jo handed April back her phone after she finished looking at the pictures.

Alex finished eating. "I have to get back upstairs. Robbins and I have a surgery."

"Bye, Babe." Alex leaned over and kissed her. He grabbed his tray and left.

April finished eating her salad. "I'm going to go see Emmy."

"Yeah I have to go do some paperwork for the staff meeting tonight." Jackson took her tray for her.

"Dr. Torres x-rays should be ready by now." All three of them got up.

"Bye, guys."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Jo headed out of the cafeteria.

"Have fun with your paperwork." April smiled and gave Jackson a kiss and then left. When she got to the daycare she found Emmy laying on her belly on her playmat. Emmy was kicking her feet

and grabbing at the toys that were hanging off the arch on the playmat. "Hey, Baby Girl." April bent down and picked her up. Emmy cooed and smiled. April planted a kiss on her cheek and sat

down on the floor next to her mat.

"Hi Dr. Kepner." One of the day care workers walked over.

"Hi." April gave her a smile.

"Did you want to give Emmy her bottle?"

"Yeah, I'd love too."

"I'll go heat it up for you."

Emmy laid back on April's chest and looked up at her. April looked down at her and rubbed her belly. "I love you." April grinned. Whenever she was with Emmy she couldn't stop smiling. Emmy

had some drool dripping down her chin and April wiped it off with the bib she was wearing.

"Here's her bottle."

"Thanks." April took the bottle. "You hungry?" April carried Emmy over to the rocker and sat down. She laid her down in her arms and gave her the bottle. Emmy held it with one hand as she ate.

April loved the cute suckling noises she made as she ate. April stroked her cheek and rocked. Halfway through her bottle, Emmy's eye lids started closing. Every time she opened them again it took

a little longer for them to open until she fell asleep. April took the bottle out of her mouth and kissed her forehead. Emmy squeaked in her sleep. April got up out of the rocker and carried her over

to a crib and laid her down. "Sweet dreams."

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

April smiled at a picture of Emmy that was taped onto her cubby. Emmy was laying in her bouncer with a huge smile on her face. April grabbed her street clothes and went to go change. Jackson

came into the lounge. "Is April here?" He asked walking over to Alex.

"She just went to go change."

"Thanks." Jackson waited for her to come out. April tossed her scrubs into the laundry basket as she walked passed it.

"Hey." She smiled at Jackson.

"Hey. I got pulled into a surgery, so I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be late."

"Oh, okay." April said with a hint of disappointment.

"I'm sorry." Jackson wrapped his arm around her. "I'll make it up to you."

"It's okay. I still have tons of laundry to do."

"I promise I will make this up to you." He gave her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." April wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest. Jackson smiled and wrapped his other arm around her.

"I'll call you later?"

"I'll be looking forward to it." Jackson let her go but April held onto him a little longer before letting go.

"I have to get upstairs."

"Okay." Jackson gave her a kiss and left. April walked over to her cubby and grabbed the rest of her things and headed down to the daycare to get Emmy.

"Hi, Dr. Kepner. Emmy fell asleep about half an hour ago."

"Thanks." April went over and grabbed Emmy's things and then went to go get her. When she picked her up, Emmy whimpered and lost the pacifier that she was sucking on. "Shhh." April rubbed

her back and gave her back the pacifier. Emmy snuggled into her neck.

"See you tomorrow."

"Good Night." April gave her a smile and left the daycare.

Jackson unlocked the door to the apartment. As soon as he opened the door he could hear Emmy crying. He put his stuff down by the door and headed to the bedroom. He poked his head into the

bedroom, when he didn't see April or Emmy he went down the hall to Emmy's room. April was walking back and forth across the room rubbing Emmy's back. Emmy's face was bright red from

crying.

"Hey." Jackson said walking over with a concerned look.

"Oh, hey." April said practically in tears.

"Everything okay?"

"No…" April shook her head and started crying.

"What's wrong?"

"She hasn't stopped crying in over an hour. And it's not one of her regular cries. This cry is different and I've tried everything and nothing is working…" April sobbed.

"Okay well how about I give it a try?"

"Okay…" Jackson took Emmy from her and started to bounce her. Emmy continued to cry. Jackson kissed Emmy's head. "There's something wrong with her Jackson."

"She's probably just getting a cold."

"I'll go get the thermometer." April wiped her eyes as she walked out of the room. Jackson laid Emmy down in his arms and continued to bounce her and walk back and forth across the room. April

came back in with the thermometer. Jackson stopped in front of her and she ran the thermometer over her forehead and checked the reading.

"100.1" April started crying again.

"Babe…"

"I'm a horrible mother."

"What?" Jackson had a confused look on his face. "No you're not."

"I don't even know when my own baby is sick."

"You're not a horrible mother. You're one of the best mothers I know. We're just going to give her some medicine and she'll be fine." Emmy's cries subsided to whimpers but then they picked up

again after she yawned. "I'll go get the medicine." Jackson rubbed April's arms. "It's going to be okay." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and carried Emmy out of the room. April grabbed Emmy's

blanket from her crib and followed him into the bedroom. Jackson kissed Emmy and then gave her to April. "I'm going to change."

April sat down on the bed with Emmy. Emmy snuggled into her neck and April rested her head on top of Emmy's. Jackson changed and climbed into bed. April slid back on the bed right up next to

him. Jackson wrapped his arm around her and April laid her head on his chest. Emmy had stopped crying and was no sucking peacefully on her pacifier.

"The medicine must be working." April kissed the tip of Emmy's nose.

Jackson rubbed April's arms. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah." April smiled. "I'm sorry about that."

"You were just feeling overwhelmed. It's okay."

"It probably won't be the last time it happens."

"I know." Jackson smiled.

April and Jackson watched Emmy fall asleep. "I want to keep her in here."

"Alright."

April got up and laid Emmy down in the back and play that was next to the bed. She covered her up with her blanket and then got back into bed. Jackson wrapped both arms around her.

"Thank you." April said after a minute.

"For what?"

"If you didn't come home when you did I'm pretty sure we both would have been on floor in a puddle of tears."

Jackson chuckled.

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

April came out of the bedroom carrying Emmy. Jackson was in the kitchen making breakfast. Emmy whimpered and tugged on her ear. April kissed her head and

rubbed her back. "Jackson…she's still warm."

"Did you give her anything?"

"Yeah but I'm worried."

"It's her first cold and it won't be her last."

"It's been three days and she hasn't gotten any better."

"It takes time to get over a cold."

"I think this is different. I just have this feeling."

"She's looking better."

"She should be better by now."

"Did you want to take her to the hospital? Alex or Arizona could check her out." Emmy started crying.

"I know, Sweetie…" April rocked her back and forth. April started to tear up. She looked over at Jackson. Jackson turned off the burner and walked over to her.

"I'll go get dressed and we can go."

April nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Jackson headed to the bedroom. April went into Emmy's room and packed up Emmy's diaper bag.

She gave Emmy a pacifier but she spit it out. "We're going to get you feeling better soon." April went back into the living room and laid Emmy in her infant

carrier. Jackson came out of the bedroom.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Emmy let out a loud cry. Jackson grabbed the keys and opened the door for her. April picked up the carrier and headed out of the apartment.

At the hospital, Jackson and April waited in an exam room. Jackson had Emmy in his lap. She squirmed and fussed. Jackson rubbed her belly. April looked like

she could burst into tears at any moment. Jackson put his hand on her back and rubbed it gently. The door opened and Alex and Arizona came walking in.

"Hey." Arizona said coming in.

"Hi."

"Hi." April gave her a little smiled.

Alex was looking over the chart that one of the nurses had started. "So Emmy's been sick for a few days?"

"She's had a fever and she hasn't been eating."

"We'll give her an IV to rehydrate her and then we can run some tests."

"You want to put her on the exam table so we can take a quick look at her?"

"Yeah." Jackson stood up with her. "You want me to get her undressed?"

"You can leave her undershirt on." April helped Jackson get her undressed and he laid her down on the exam table. Emmy cried loudly and squirmed around.

April held her hand and stroked her head. Alex walked over and listened to her breathing and her heart. While Alex was examining her, Arizona was getting

ready to give her an IV. Arizona walked over.

"Okay, Sweet Girl." Arizona said taking her arm. "Just a little pinch." Arizona put the IV into her arm. Emmy let out a wail. April turned away.

"You want to draw some blood?" Arizona asked Alex while she finished setting up the IV.

"Sure." Jackson tried to calm Emmy down. Alex drew some blood.

"I'll bring this down to the lab." Alex said leaving.

"If the blood tests come back normal then I think we should do a lumbar puncture."

"A spinal tap?" April's voice cracked.

"It could be a viral infection."

"She's too little."

"It's only a last resort. We'll wait and see." April's lip started to quiver.

"Thanks, Arizona." Jackson said giving her a smile.

"I'll be back." Arizona left.

As soon as the door clicked close, April started crying. Jackson walked over to her and pulled her in close to him. April cried into his shirt. Jackson rubbed her

back as he held her. "We can't loose her." April sobbed.

"Hey, don't even talk like that."

"She's sick and there's nothing we can do to help her. I can't even get her to stop crying." April walked over to Emmy. Emmy's cries had subsided to whimpers.

Jackson pulled a chair over for her so she could sit down. April sat down and he sat down next to her. Emmy looked over at them with her big blue eyes. April

smiled and kissed her. Jackson took April's hand. She intertwined her fingers with his.

April was resting her head on Jackson's shoulder and still holding Emmy's hand when Arizona came back in. Emmy had fallen asleep. "Looks like she's feeling a

little better."

"This is the first time she's slept more then 20 minutes in two days."

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing abnormal came back on the blood work."

"So you have to…"

"Yeah but we're going to put her under anesthesia so she won't feel anything."

"Are you going to do that now?"

"The sooner we get it done the sooner we can find out what's wrong with her."

"Okay."

"You want to walk down to the OR with us?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Arizona smiled. "We'll get her ready to move." Arizona opened the door and motioned for a couple of nurses to come in. Jackson and April moved out of

the way. Emmy woke up and started crying when she didn't see Jackson or April. "We're ready."

Jackson and April walked back over to to the bed as they wheeled her out. Emmy reached for April.

"Shh it's okay." April stroked her cheek. Jackson held on to Emmy's hand.

They stopped when they got to the OR. April looked at Jackson. He wrapped his arm around her her waist.

"Bye, Em. See you when you wake up." Jackson gave her a kiss.

April bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. April leaned down and kissed her on the top of the head. "We love you." Tears filled April's eyes. She stood up and

wrapped her arms around Jackson. He wrapped both of his arms around her.

"Why don't you go get a cup of coffee and I'll come find you when we're done."

"Arizona…" April and Arizona shared a look.

"I promise I'll take good care of her." They wheeled Emmy inside. Jackson and April could still hear her crying outside the door. Jackson and April hugged before

heading down to the lounge to get coffee.

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Jackson and April were sitting in the waiting room waiting to hear about Emmy. Jackson had his arm wrapped around April and April's head was resting on his

chest. Arizona came walking over to them. "Arizona." Jackson said rubbing April's arm. April sat up in the chair.

"Hey." Arizona smiled as she walked over.

"How's Emmy?"

"She's good. She's in recovery."

"Did the test results come back yet?"

"I'm still waiting on them. The lab is a little backed up. I told them to run them ASAP."

"Can we go see her?"

"Of course. I can bring you to her room." Jackson and April got up and followed her down the hall. Arizona stopped outside a room. "She's still asleep. It'll be a

little while before she's fully awake." April opened the door and went in. Jackson stayed outside to talk to Arizona.

"Do you have any idea what might be making her sick?"

"My professional opinion? I think it's meningitis."

"How? She's had the vaccination for it?"

"It doesn't cover all the different strains of it."

"But how could she have gotten it? She spends most of her time in the daycare."

"I'm not sure how she got it but we are giving her antibiotics that will help her recover faster."

"Aren't there serious side effects from meningitis?"

"There are and we'll be looking for any signs of them as she gets better."

"So she has to stay in the hospital?"

"Yeah for at least a few days so we can monitor her."

"I don't even know how I'm going to tell April."

"Well don't tell her anything yet until we know for sure. I'll be in as soon as I get the test results."

"Thank you."

"We're going to do everything to get her better."

"I know." Jackson finished talking with Arizona and went into the room. April was sitting next to the crib. She had her right hand through the bars and she was

holding Emmy's hand. Emmy was fast asleep in the crib. Her head was turned to the right like she was looking at them and her mouth was opened in a little o

shape. Jackson heard April sniffle. He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. April looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Her hands are cold." April's button lip quivered.

"I'll get her blanket out of the diaper bag." Jackson went over to the diaper bag that was on the table on the far side of the room. He pulled out her blanket and

her cow from Owen that they had to take every where with them. He put the blanket over her and put the cow down next to her head so when she woke up she

would see it. April stroked the top of her hand with her thumb.

"Did Arizona get the test results back?"

"No not yet."

"What were you talking about out there?"

"She was just letting me know how everything went."

April wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. "Jackson…I'm scared."

"I know. I am too." Jackson sat down in the chair next to her. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into him. A soft sob escaped her lips. Jackson held

her close and let her cry into his shirt.

Arizona knocked on the door a half an hour later. "I got the test results." She said coming into the room.

"Is it serious?"

"The test results came back positive for meningitis." April's hand went up to her mouth as she let out a small cry. Jackson took her hand. "I promise we're doing

everything to get her better. We had already started her on the antibiotics."

"But she…she's going to be okay?" April asked through her sobs.

"We're going to keep her her so we can monitor her but positive she'll make a full recovery." April got up out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Arizona

knocking her off balance. Arizona had to grab on to the crib to steady herself. Arizona wrapped her arm around her after she had regained her balance.

"Thank you so much for everything." April smiled through her tears.

Arizona smiled as her own eyes welled up. "Anything for family, right?"

"Right." April smiled and hugged her again.

"I have to go do my rounds but I'll be back later to check on her."

"Thank you." Jackson said with a smile.

Arizona nodded and headed out of the room.

"She's going to be okay."

"I told you she would be." Jackson and April hugged and kissed.

"I don't know what I would do without you." April kept her arm around him.

"Arizona said there are some side effects from the virus but she's going to be watching for them."

"Do you have your phone on you?"

"Yeah."

"I want to look them up so I can refresh my memory."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I just don't want you to read them and then worry that she's going to get them."

"Jackson I want to know everything."

"Okay." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave it to her. April sat down in the chair and started searching the internet. Jackson sat down in the chair

next to her and watched Emmy sleep.

Emmy started stirring. She whimpered as she woke up. They head pulled the side of the crib down so it was easy for Jackson to look over the top of the bar. He

took Emmy's hand. Emmy cried and opened her eyes.

"Hey, Baby Girl." Jackson smiled and stroked her head. Emmy continued to whimper as she woke up. She stopped crying when she saw Jackson. He smiled at

her. "Hey." Emmy gave him a little smile. "That's my girl." Emmy looked over at April. "You see Mommy?"

April put the phone down in her lap and leaned over the side of the crib. "There's those pretty eyes that Mommy loves." April planted a kiss on the top of her

head.

"She's looking better already."

"Yeah I think she is."

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

April sat in the chair next to Emmy's bed. Emmy was sitting in her lap sucking on her pacifier and playing with a cardboard book. April smiled and kissed the top

of her head. For the first two nights that Emmy was in the hospital, Jackson and April never left her bedside. Once Emmy started getting more like herself,

Jackson went back to work. April turned Emmy around in her lap so she was looking at her. Emmy smiled under her pacifier. "I missed that sweet smile." April

kissed her cheek. Emmy reached out and touched April's face. April smiled and kissed her hand. "I love you." Emmy snuggled into her. There was a knock on the

door and Arizona came in.

"Good Morning." Arizona smiled.

"Morning." April smiled. She patted Emmy's back as Emmy snuggled her. Arizona walked over to them.

"She's looking so much better."

"I think she's just about back to her normal self."

"I just wanted to let you know that her last lab results all came back negative. No more meningitis."

"So we can take her home?"

"Whenever you want to."

"You ready to go home, Em. I know I am."

"I can get the discharge papers ready for you."

"Thank you so much." April's eyes teared up.

"You're very welcome."

"Does Jackson know?"

"I thought I would let you tell him." April grabbed her phone. "I'll be back."

Once Arizona had left April called Jackson. He answered after the second ring.

"Hey, Babe. How's our girl?"

"All her test results came back negative."

"So she's ready to go home?"

"Yeah." April smiled as a couple of tears rolled down her cheek.

"I'll finish up what I'm doing and meet you down there."

"Okay."

"Give Em a kiss for me."

"I will."

"See you soon."

"Bye." April hung up. "I think we might have to celebrate tonight."

Arizona came back with the discharge papers and April signed them. "Come here Peanut and I'll take this IV out of your arm." April repositioned Emmy in her

lap and Arizona took the IV out and put a band-aid on her. Emmy smiled and kicked her feet.

"Thank you Auntie Arizona." April smiled and sat Emmy on her hip.

"I don't want to see you back here, okay?" Arizona stroked Emmy's cheek. "Unless of course it's in the day care." April wrapped her arm around Arizona and

hugged her. "Call me later?"

"Yeah of course."

Arizona gave Emmy a kiss and then left.

April grabbed some clothes out of her diaper bag and got her dressed. The door opened again and Jackson came in.

"There's Daddy." April beamed. Emmy's face lit up when she saw him.

"Hey, Baby Girl." Jackson grinned as he walked over. Emmy reached for him and April passed her to him.

"We're almost ready." April finished packing up the diaper bag.

Emmy snuggled Jackson's neck as he rubbed her back. April gathered up the rest of their things. "Ready?"

"Yeah." April wrapped her arm around his waist. "Let's go home."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in today?" Jackson asked two days later. He was in the bedroom getting ready for work.

"No. I want to wait one more day before we bring her back to day care."

"Okay." Jackson sat down on the bed and put on his socks and shoes.

"I made some breakfast for you."

"Thanks, Babe." Jackson smiled and gave her a kiss before heading to the kitchen. April went into Emmy's room to see if she was awake. When she walked into

the room she could see Emmy laying in her crib playing with some toys. April smiled and walked over to the crib.

"Morning." Emmy continued to play with her toys. "You ready to get up?" Emmy looked up when she saw April standing at the crib. She spit her pacifier out and

smiled. April picked her up and brought her over to the changing table to change her. April gave her a teether so she wouldn't chew on any of the bottle tops as

she changed her. Emmy drooled all over the front of her as she

chewed on it.

"So Mommy has to do some cleaning this morning but then I thought we could go to the park and go on the swings. How does that sound?" April sat her up and

brushed her hair. When she was done brushing her hair, April picked her up and carried her into the kitchen and put her in her high chair. Jackson smiled and

tickled her tummy. Emmy smiled and cooed.

"I can feed her, Babe." April handed him the jar of baby food and a spoon. "Do you have anything planned today?" Jackson gave Emmy a spoonful of food and

wiped her chin with it as some dribbled down.

"Just some cleaning and I'm going to take her to the park. She loves the swings."

"That sounds like fun." Jackson smiled. Emmy reached for the jar of food and he gave her another spoonful.

After Jackson left for work, April set Emmy up on the living room floor with her playmat and some toys and started cleaning. She started by cleaning up the

kitchen and wiping down the counters. Ever since Emmy was born she's been a stickler for germs. She put some dishwasher powder into the machine and

turned it on. "I know you're not a fan of the vacuum but Mommy really needs to

do the rug. Daddy dropped crumbs all over the place when he was eating his chips and watching the game last night." April went over to the closet and pulled

the vacuum out. She started vacuuming the hallway and then went into the living room. April looked over at Emmy to make sure she wasn't crying. When she

saw that she was still playing she continued to vacuum. April vacuumed around Emmy. "Okay, Peanut. Just have to move you for a minute." April pulled her

blanket over so she could vacuum the spot she had been sitting on. Emmy smiled at her. April gave her a kiss and went back to vacuuming. April finished

vacuuming and put the vacuum back in the closet. "Mommy just has to put in some laundry and then we can go to the park." April went into

the bathroom and grabbed the clothes hamper. She went into the laundry room and separated the dark and light clothes and put the darks into the washing

machine. "Okay. Let's get ready to go to the park." April said excitedly as she came out of the laundry room. "Emmy you want to go on the swings?" Emmy was

playing with a book that played music and talked when she pushed the buttons. "Emmy…" Emmy didn't look up until April was right in front of her. "You want to

go on the swing?" April picked Emmy up. Emmy snuggled her and laid her head on her shoulder. April rubbed her back as she walked over to the stroller and put

her in it. April grabbed the diaper bag and hung it over the handle bar. She grabbed the keys off the hook and left locking the door behind her.

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Jackson sat on the couch with Emmy in his lap. Emmy was chewing on a soft block. Jackson smiled as he watched her. Some drool dripped down her chin and he

wiped it with her bib. Jackson tickled her belly and Emmy laughed. April opened the door and came in. "Hello?" April hung her coat up on the hook and put her

bag down on the table.

"Hey, Babe." Emmy's face lit up when she saw her.

"Hey, Baby." April gushed as she walked over to them. Emmy lifted her arms towards her and April picked her up. Emmy snuggled her neck. "How was your

day?" April rubbed her back and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Good. I was just going to get her ready for her bath."

"I'll help." Jackson got up off the couch and headed for the bathroom. April followed behind with Emmy. Jackson grabbed Emmy's tub from the bathroom closet

and put it in the sink to fill it with water. April sat on side of the tub getting Emmy undressed. Jackson grabbed a towel and a face cloth. April grabbed the baby

wash and brought Emmy over to the tub. She tested the water and then sat her in the tub. Jackson came back with the towel and wash cloth. He poured some

wash on the cloth and started to wash Emmy. Emmy kicked her feet and chewed on the rubber duck that April had given to her. April lathered up her hair and

washed it.

"I'll go get her pajamas ready." April said after she rinsed the wash from her hair.

"Okay, Babe." Jackson smiled at Emmy. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and gently washed her face. April walked across the hall to Emmy's room. She grabbed

some fleece pajamas from the dresser and put it on the changing table. Jackson came in a few minutes later with Emmy. The hood of her towel had a duck face

on it. April smiled to herself. Jackson sat her on the changing table and rubbed her down with the towel to dry her off. April grabbed a diaper from the diaper

stacker and handed it to him. Jackson tickled Emmy's belly as he fastened the diaper. Emmy smiled and kicked her feet excitedly. Jackson slipped the bottom

part of the pajamas on her and then stood her up to put her arms through the arm holes and zipped her up.

"All done." Jackson picked her up and rubbed her back.

"Don't forget to brush her hair."

"I like the curls."

"I do too but if you don't brush her hair now then it's going to be all knotted in the morning."

"I'll just comb it out."

"Call me when she's ready to eat." April headed out to the kitchen.

Jackson grabbed the comb and started to comb out Emmy's hair. He would comb it out and it would curl right back up again. It reminded him a lot of his hair

when he was young. Emmy tugged on her ear.

"You ready for Mommy to feed you?" Emmy whimpered. Jackson rubbed her back.

"April." He called. Emmy laid her head on his shoulder and he swayed slowly back and forth. April came back into the room. Jackson kissed Emmy. "Night, Em.

Love you." Jackson passed her to April.

"Hey, Sweet girl." April carried her over to the rocker and sat down. She got Emmy situated and then sat back in the rocker and rocked her as she ate. April

watched Emmy eat and stroked her cheek. Jackson finished cleaning up the kitchen then went to take a shower.

When Jackson came out of the bathroom, April was in the bedroom and was getting ready for bed. "She went down fast." Jackson said walking over and

wrapping his arms around her.

"I think you wore her out today." April turned around and wrapped her arms around him. They shared a passionate kiss on the lips. "Thanks for finishing

cleaning up."

"Welcome." Jackson kissed her again and then let her go so she could finish changing. Jackson got into bed and waited for her. He flipped through a magazine

while he waited. April finished up in the bathroom and climbed into bed. Jackson put the magazine back and slid down under the covers. April curled up next to

him and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Jackson?"

"Mmm."

"Have you noticed anything different with Emmy?"

"Different?"

"Just some little things I noticed."

"Like what?"

"Well you know how she would always cry when we vacuumed?"

"Yeah."

"Well the other day I was vacuuming and she didn't start crying."

"Maybe she's used to it now and it doesn't bother her."

"There's something else?"

"What?"

"I was talking to her the other day and I don't think she could hear me."

"Of course she heard you."

"No. She used to turn her head and smile when she would hear me."

"She still smiles at you."

"Yeah I know she does but only when she can see me."

"Babe, I think your over reacting."

"Jackson…" April rolled over so she was facing him. She had a concerned look on her face.

"You're really worried about her?" Jackson said after a minute.

"Yes." Tears welled up in her eyes.

Jackson kissed her and stroked her cheek. A tear rolled down her cheek and onto her pillow. "We'll take her to the pediatrician and have them check her out."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I'll call tomorrow."

"Okay."

To Be Continued...


	7. Chapter 7

April and Jackson sat in the waiting room at their Audiologist's office. Emmy was asleep in Jackson's arms. Her head was resting on his chest. Her mouth was

opened slightly as she slept. April was filling out some paperwork. She finished and brought the clipboard over to the desk and handed it to the receptionist.

"The doctor will be with you in a few minutes."

"Thank you." April went back over and sat down next to Jackson. Jackson wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. Emmy squirmed

and she reached over and started to rub her back. The door in front of them opened and a woman in her forties wearing a white lab coat was standing there

holding a manilla folder. She looked at the name on the folder. "Emily Avery?"

"Right here." Jackson and April stood up. Emmy whimpered.

"I'm Dr. Johansson. Nice to meet you."

"April and this is Jackson."

"Nice to meet you." Jackson said shaking her hand.

Dr. Johansson led them back to an exam room. Emmy started to cry and April pulled a pacifier out of the diaper bag. She gave it to Jackson and he put it in her

mouth for her. Emmy quieted down after she started to suck on it. April and Jackson sat down in two of the chair that were up against the wall in the room. Dr.

Johansson quickly looked over her file. "When did you notice changes in Emily?"

"About a month ago." Dr. Johansson jotted notes as they talked.

"What were the changes that you noticed?"

"Just some little things." April shifted in her chair nervously. "She used to turn her head and look at us when we would talk to her and loud noises used to scare her."

"But that doesn't happen now?"

April looked at Jackson. "No. No it doesn't." Jackson passed Emmy to April.

"Emmy ended up getting meningitis about a month and a half ago. It was after that when the changes started." Jackson continued.

"Well hearing loss can be a side effect of meningitis."

"We just want to know if there really is something wrong with her hearing or if we're just worrying over nothing."

"I completely understand."

"I would like to run some tests on her and see if she does have some hearing loss how severe it is."

"What kind of tests will you be doing?" April asked rubbing Emmy's stomach.

"Well there's one where we put tiny earphones in her ears and electrodes are placed behind her ears and on her forehead. Then we send some clicking sounds

through the headphones and the electrodes measure the hearing nerve's response to sound."

"What's the other test that you can do?"

"The other test is where we put a probe into her ear and we send different sounds into her ear and the computer will pick up anything that she may hear."

"And what happens if she fails the hearing test?"

"We can discuss that if we need to after we get the test results."

"So we can do those tests right now?"

"We can but we have to sedate her."

"Is that necessary?" April was almost in tears.

"If we don't then we won't be able to get a proper reading."

April looked at Jackson with tears in her eyes. "Could you give us a minute to talk?"

"Yes of course." Dr. Johansson got up and left.

"Jackson…"

"It will only be while they run the test." April shook her head and wiped her eyes with her free hand. Emmy looked up at her intently. "This is the only way we

can find out if there is something wrong with her hearing."

"And if there is?"

"Let's just get through the tests first."

"Okay." Jackson and April hugged. Emmy squirmed between them. Jackson let her go and looked down at Emmy. Emmy smiled at up at him. He kissed her on

the forehead as Dr. Johansson came back into the room.

"Did you need a few more minutes?"

"No we've decided to go ahead with the tests."

"Good. We can get the IV started then get going on the tests as soon as she's asleep."

Dr. Johansson motioned for a nurse to come in. "Susan will get the IV going."

"Did you want to hold her while I put the IV in?" Susan asked.

"If that's okay."

"Sure." Susan smiled.

April laid Emmy in her arms. Susan wiped her arm off with a wipe and put the IV in. Emmy's bottom lip quivered and her face scrunched up. "Shh it's okay."

April gave her a kiss and rubbed her cheek.

"How long before we would know the results?" Jackson asked.

"We'd be able to know right away."

"That fast?"

"Everything is imputed right into the computer so the results are instant."

April gently rocked Emmy while they waited for the sedative to kick in.

"Worst case scenario?"

"Jackson…" April looked at him with sad eyes.

"Sorry, babe. I just want to be prepared."

"Well the worst case scenario would be that she has severe hearing loss."

"And what would we do if that happened?"

"Well there isn't much you can do surgically for that."

April bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. She looked down at Emmy. "She's asleep."

"If you will lay her down on the table I can get started on the test."

April kissed her forehead and laid her down. She stood next to the table holding her hand. Jackson got up out of his chair and walked over to her wrapping his

arm around her waist.

Dr. Johansson and Susan placed the electrodes on Emmy's head and she started the various tests on Emmy.

To Be Continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Jackson and April were sitting on the couch. Emmy was laying on April's chest chewing on a teether. Jackson had his arm around April's neck. The TV was on but

they were more engrossed with Emmy then with the TV. April leaned her head to the side so she was resting it on Jackson. Jackson started to rub her shoulder.

"What time is it?"

"Five minutes later then the last time you asked." Jackson said not even looking at his watch.

"She said she would call today."

"It's still early."

"Jackson, what if…."

"Let's wait until we know something before we start worrying."

"You're not worried at all?"

"Of course I am but it doesn't do us or her any good." Jackson stroked the top of Emmy's head. The phone rang and Jackson jumped up to answer it. April

looked nervously over at him. April adjusted Emmy in her lap and started to rub her back.

"Avery residence." Jackson said answering the phone. "Hi, Dr. Johansson." He looked over at April. She got up with Emmy and walked over to him. "Yes. Okay.

No that will be fine. Alright, see you then. Bye." Jackson hung up the phone.

"What did she say?"

"The results are in and she wants us to come in so she can discuss them with us."

"When?"

"Three o'clock this afternoon."

"She didn't say anything else about the results?"

"No." April's bottom lip quivered. Jackson wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into him. April started to cry. Emmy squirmed and started to whimper.

Jackson let April go and took Emmy from her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and rubbed her back. Jackson pulled April in close again and kept his arm around

her. April wiped her eyes and then wrapped her arm around Jackson. "It's all going to be okay. We'll all be okay." April looked up at Emmy. Emmy smiled at her.

April smiled and stroked her cheek. "What do you say we get dressed and take her to the park?"

"Yeah. I know she'd like that."

"I would too."

April was standing behind the swing pushing Emmy. Jackson stood in front of her and would grab her feet every time she would swing forward. Emmy through

her head back and laughed when he grabbed her feet. April and Jackson both laughed along with her. The next time the swing came up to him, Jackson grabbed

it and held it up in front of him for a minute. Emmy kicked her feet excitedly. He smiled and gave her a kiss and then let her go again making her squeal with

delight. "She loves it when you do that." April said giving her another little push. Jackson waited a few pushes and then did it again making Emmy squeal all

over again.

"I'm going to take her down the slide."

"You're going to slide down with her? They have a slide for babies right over there." April motioned to the small slide off to the right.

"The big slide is better."

"Jackson." April gave him an apprehensive look.

"She'll be fine. I won't let her go." Jackson stopped the swing and picked up Emmy. Emmy snuggled into his neck. "Let's go down the slide." He carried her over

to the jungle gym and climbed up to where the slide was. April went around and stood in front of the slide. Jackson waited for the kids to go down and then he

sat down on the slide and put Emmy in his lap. He wrapped his arm around her to keep her in place.

"Jackson over here." April waved. She was holding up her phone to take a picture. Jackson looked over and smiled. April snapped a quick picture.

"Here we go." Jackson gave himself a little push and they went down the slide. Emmy looked like she was going to cry at first but then a big smile spread across

her face.

"I think she liked it. It was hard to tell."

"How about one more time?"

"Then we should get her home. She looks like she needs a nap."

"Alright." Jackson picked her up and carried her back around to the slide. He waited his turn and took her down the slide again. This time Emmy smiled and

laughed the whole way down. Jackson passed Emmy to April and she carried her back over to the stroller. April strapped her in and gave her a pacifier. She

pulled the top of the stroller forward to block out the sun. She wrapped her arms around Jackson and hugged him. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her

and they kissed.

"I had a great time."

"Me too."

"We should do this more often."

"I think you're right." They kissed again. "Come on let's get her home." Jackson walked over to the stroller and started pushing it. April caught up to him and

wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked.

At Two forty five, Jackson and April headed over to the doctor's office. They sat in the waiting room waiting to be called back. Emmy was sleeping in Jackson's

lap. He had his hand resting on her back. April was skimming through the magazines on the table in front of her. Emmy whimpered as she woke up. "I'll take

her." April said tossing the magazine back on the pile. Jackson passed her over and sat back in the chair. April pulled a bottle out of the diaper bag and gave it to

Emmy. Emmy laid back against her and drank her bottle. The door opened and the doctor came out.

"Mister and Misses Avery?" Jackson and April stood up. April grabbed the diaper bag and put it over her shoulder. Jackson placed his hand on her back and

followed the doctor back. "Please have a seat."

Jackson cleared his throat. April looked anxiously over at him. Emmy leaned into her and April laid her cheek on her head and gave her a kiss. Dr. Johansson

took a piece of paper out of Emmy's chart.

"I'm sorry I have to tell you this but your daughter did suffer hearing loss as a result of her meningitis." April started to cry. Jackson wrapped his arm around

her and rubbed her back. "How much of a hearing loss does she have?" Jackson asked. .

"In her right ear it's about 85% and in her left ear it's about 90%." Emmy started to cry. April tried to comfort her but she couldn't stop crying herself. "We

could fit her for some hearing aids. It won't do much but it would help with the hearing that she does have."

"What can she hear?"

"Right now not much. But the hearing aids would help her pick up the sounds better."

"Would she be able to hear us talking to her?" April asked.

"She could eventually. It will take some time for the hearing aids to really help her."

"What about a coclear implant?" Emmy's cries had subsided to whimpers. Jackson rubbed the top of her head as he asked the question.

"That's a possibility. I can give you all the information I have and you can talk it over and I'll check back with you in a few days. I'll be right back with those

pamphlets." Dr. Johansson left.

Jackson looked over at April and she started to cry again.

To Be Continued...


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